World champion Thalita de Jong took a no-doubt victory Sunday at the GP Mario De Clercq in Ronse, Belgium. The 22-year-old Rabobank – Liv rider charged out to an early lead and never looked back, consistently adding to her advantage in the first several laps, overcoming even a fall and post-crash mechanical to win by nearly 30 seconds.
Sanne Cant (Enertherm – BKCP) nabbed runner-up honors in the opening race of the IJsboerke Ladies Trophy circuit, the women’s side of the DVV Verzekeringen Trofee. Sophie De Boer (Kalas – NNOF) finished just behind Cant to take the final spot on the podium.
Top 10
- 1. Thalita DE JONG, (NED), 44:39
- 2. Sanne CANT, (BEL), 45:01
- 3. Sophie DE BOER, (NED), 45:04
- 4. Pavla HAVLIKOVA, (CZE), 45:08
- 5. Lucinda BRAND, (NED), 45:15
- 6. Jolien VERSCHUEREN, (BEL), 45:15
- 7. Nikki BRAMMEIER, (GBR), 45:30
- 8. Ellen VAN LOY, (BEL), 45:30
- 9. Maud KAPTHEIJNS, (NED), 45:36
- 10. Laura VERDONSCHOT, (BEL), 46:51
De Jong established her advantage early, already enjoying a gap of nearly 20 seconds to a chasing Cant after two laps. Cant did what she could to chase De Jong solo for several minutes before dropping back to a larger group of pursuers midway through the race.
De Jong hit the deck near the end of the fourth lap, seemingly putting everything back into play for the chasers, especially when she was forced to spend time fixing her chain after the fall — but her lead was by that point that the crash hardly mattered. She rolled across the start-finish line to start the fifth lap still 20 seconds ahead.
A furious pace in the chasing group saw the pursuers lined out, with Cant and De Boer beginning to pull away in the fifth lap. Pavla Havlikova (MRM – Avalon) briefly joined them to make a trio of pursuers, but no one could bridge the gap to De Jong.
The Dutch world champion cruised through the final laps hardly losing any ground, crossing the line with no one in sight on the finishing straight.
“It’s a nice start to the season,” De Jong said. “After a handling mistake and fall, my chain stuck in my frame. For a moment I thought it was all over, luckily my lead was large enough to stay ahead.”
Cant, winner of last season’s BPost Bank Trofee overall, jumped away behind in the closing moments to seal second place.
Results
- 1. Thalita DE JONG, (NED), 44:39
- 2. Sanne CANT, (BEL), 45:01
- 3. Sophie DE BOER, (NED), 45:04
- 4. Pavla HAVLIKOVA, (CZE), 45:08
- 5. Lucinda BRAND, (NED), 45:15
- 6. Jolien VERSCHUEREN, (BEL), 45:15
- 7. Nikki BRAMMEIER, (GBR), 45:30
- 8. Ellen VAN LOY, (BEL), 45:30
- 9. Maud KAPTHEIJNS, (NED), 45:36
- 10. Laura VERDONSCHOT, (BEL), 46:51
- 11. Inge VAN DER HEIJDEN, (NED), 46:59
- 12. Karen VERHESTRAETEN, (BEL), 47:08
- 13. Loes SELS, (BEL), 47:23
- 14. Alicia FRANCK, (BEL), 47:42
- 15. Pauline DELHAYE, (FRA), 47:55
- 16. Manon BAKKER, (NED), 48:07
- 17. Elle ANDERSON, (USA), 48:16
- 18. Yara KASTELIJN, (NED), 48:33
- 19. Geerte HOEKE, (NED), 48:39
- 20. Linda TER BEEK, (NED), 48:51
- 21. Githa MICHIELS, (BEL), 49:01
- 22. Lizzy WITLOX, (NED), 49:37
- 23. Kim VAN DE STEENE, (BEL), 49:43
- 24. Esther VAN DER BURG, (NED), 50:19
- 25. Axelle BELLAERT, (BEL), 50:41
- 26. Suzanne VERHOEVEN, (NED), 51:09
- 27. Eva Maria PALM, (BEL), 52:19
- 28. Maaike DE HEIJ, (NED)
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